All three Galaxy S26 devices may get a shocking battery downgrade

Considering we’re less than 24 hours from the first Galaxy Unpacked event of the year, it’s only natural that we’ve already seen and heard almost everything about Samsung’s upcoming flagships. One of the key details about the Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra is certainly their battery performance, and a new leak points at a disappointing downgrade.

Galaxy S26 devices may have a significantly worse battery longevity

All three Galaxy S26 devices may feature batteries rated for 1200 charge cycles, according to leaked EU labels with battery endurance estimations shared by YTECHB. That means the battery health will drop to 80% after 1200 charge cycles. Last year’s Galaxy S25 was rated for 2,000 cycles.

On the bright side, the three new phones are labeled with A-class energy efficiency, which makes them some of the most energy-efficient smartphones. The Galaxy S26 trio also has an A rating for repeated free-fall reliability and a C rating for repairability. They also have an IP68 dust and water resistance rating.

That means the new phones will be able to survive some drops without critical damage, but if you need to repair them, it could be complicated. You can also stop worrying about dust or submerging the phones in up to 3m of fresh water for at least 30 minutes.

Some good news

The leaked labels also confirm some details about the battery capacity and endurance per cycle we’ve heard before. The vanilla S26 is getting a battery rated at 4,175 mAh, which is the 4,300 mAh typical capacity we’ll see in Samsung’s announcements. The S26 Plus and S26 Ultra come with batteries rated at 4,755 and 4,855 mAh, respectively, which will be marketed as 4,900 and 5,000 mAh typical capacity. 



More interestingly, the new phones will have a much higher endurance per cycle rating than the Galaxy S25 series. The S26 is rated at 51 hours, while the S26 Plus and S26 Ultra are both rated at 55 hours. That’s a significant jump from the 37 hours of the S25, almost 44 hours of the S25 Plus, and just below 45 hours of the S25 Plus. Those numbers are unlikely to reflect normal use, but if they were achieved with the same test, they could signal a notable improvement in the battery life.

If those labels are anything to go by, the S26 Ultra battery won’t last as long as the iPhone 17 Pro Max, but it will retain its health better. Apple’s top-tier flagship battery is rated at 53 hours per cycle and 1000 cycles, getting an A rating for power efficiency. Google’s Pixel 10 Pro XL fares worse as it gets a B rating for energy efficiency, less than 49 hours per cycle, and the same 1000 cycles out of its battery.

Potentially a big deal

Considering that we’re using our phones longer, getting 60% of the battery cycles is a major downgrade. On the other hand, I’ve been degrading my batteries with about 250 cycles per year, and I think my use is quite average. If that’s the case, most people shouldn’t worry about the health of their S26 battery for four to five years. Whether that's good enough is up to you, but I believe it should serve most people well.